Well-drilling apparatus.



cfw. naomuunf..I WELL DRILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILEDNOV- 7| 1917.

Patented Jan. 14,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

(L W. THURNILEY'. .WELL DRILLING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED NOV-7.1917.

lmelma Jan, 14,1919.

\ s sHEETs-SHEET 2 vc. W,TI I0RNILEY. WELL 'DRILLING APPARATUS. AIPLIQATIOII FILED NOV.y7.' ISI?.

, Patented Jan.14,;1919.

V5 SHEETS-.SHEET al Hmmm.

LARENCEW. 'THORNILEY, 0F ELECTRA, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO CHARLES D. THORNILEY, OF ELEGTRA, TEXAS. i

WELL-DRILLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. i Patgntd Jana 14, 1919 Application ied November 7, 1917. Serial No. I200,769.

To all whom z'z may concern:

Be it known thatl I, CLARENCE W. THORNI- LEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Electra, in the county of Vl/Vichita and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Well-Drilling Apparatus. of which the lfollowing is a specification. I

This invention relates-to an improved Well drilling apparatus and has as its primary object to provide a construction wherein the bull wheel shaft, the sand reel and casing line shaft may all be operated independently. of each other from the same source of power.

The invention has as a further objectv to provide an arrangement. wherein the bull wheel may be easily disconnected fromthe drive gear therefor for lowering the drilling tools into a well.

A further object of the invention is vto provide a construction wherein the sand reel shaft may be readily coupled with or un coupled from the source of power.

The invention has as a still further object to provide a construction wherein the casing line shaft will beequipped with gearing vfor rotating' the .said shaft at a relatively highl speed for light work and will also' be equipped'with gearing for rotating the said shaft at a relatively low -speed but with.

greater power for heavy work. v

rlfhe invention has asa still further object to provide an. arrangement wherein either the high speed or low speed rear for the casing line shaft may be readily coupled therewith or uncoupled from the shaft.

And a still further object of the invention `is to provide an arrangement wherein motive power may be connected directly with the drive gear for the bull wheel, with the drive shaft for the casing line shaft or by -means of a sprocket provided, directly with the casing line shaft.

Other and incidental objects will appear as the description proceeds and in the draw ings wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein Fig. 2 is a plan view particularly illus? c ing the sand reel shaft to engage the friction wheel upon the said shaft with the belt wheel of the apparatus,

Fig. 5 is a vertical' sectionftaken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction'o the arrows,

'Fig 6 is a. detail sectional view particularly illustrating the construction of the casing wheel, y

Fig. 7 is 'a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows, this view particularly showing the brake wheel for thebull wheel shaft as well as the casing wheel, v l

Fig-8 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the mounting of the sprocket employed for connecting motive power directly with the casing line shaft, and Fig. 9 is an endv elevation showing the derrick frame which may be employed `in lieu of the pole ormast of the apparatus for heavy hoisting purposes.

In carrying out .the invention, my improved apparatus is formed with sills 10. 11 and 1'2 respectively. These sills are joined by spaced longitudinal beams 13 and 13 to which the said sills `are detachably clamped in any approved manner so that when it is desired to move the device from place to place. the sills may be removed and supporting wheels 'suitably connected with the said beams. `Extending between the beams are a plurality of cross pieces l-L. and a brace bar 15 at the rear ends of the said beams. The beams 13 and 13 form part of a frame which `also includes spaced beams 16 and 16 arranged directly over the beamsv 13 and 13. and supported thereon b vfa plurality ot' posts 17. Extending between in this conection it' will be observed upon lreference to Fig. 7 of the drawings. that the beaml terminates immediately in advance of the plane of the sill 11 Connecting the upper and lower beams are a pluralitywoi` tie rods 1t.

.i i Secured upon the upper edges of the hub vof thisfdrive gearvis formedfwitli a clutch face l23'with` which is arranged to coperate 4a .clutch 24 splined on the shaft. Engaging with the said clutch is a shipper lever 25supported by a bracket 26 extending from a post 27 which upstands from the sill 11 within the frame and is. supported in spaced relation. to the beam 13 by a block 28. The lever`25 is in thenature of a bell-crank A lever and extending' from the free arm thereof is a cont-rolrod 29 .slidably ttedthrough the rearmost of the cross pieces -18 and extending to` the rear. end of the apparatus where the said rod may be easily manipullatedfor coupling the drive gear 22 with 25' the shaft 21 `or uncoupling the said gear therefrom. Journaled in 4suitable Vbearings upon the upper end of the post 27 and the adjacent strip 20 ofthe frame isa stub shaft 30 lupon which is keyed a gear wheel 31 30 meshing with'the drive gear; 22.

Mounted upon the beam 16 adjacent the rear end of the frame is a slide 32 supported by spaced'keepers 33 embracing the slide and secured to the'said beam.

one end in a suitable bearing upon this slide is a Abull wheel shaft 34. The opposite end of this shaft is journaled in a suitable bearing u pona post v35 upstanding from a beam 36. extending vbetween the adjacent ends of 40 the sills 11 and 12. Bracing this post at its lower extremity is a cross piece 3T secured to the upper edges of the beams 13 and 13 and held by straps 38.' Fixed upon the shaft 34 isa drum 39 and keyed to the said A5 shaft at its extremity adjacent the slide 32 is a bull.y wheel 40 normally meshing with the gearl wheel 31. Thus, the bull wheel shaft will be -driven from the main drive shaft 21 and, as will be understood in view of the previous description, actuation of the .bull wheel shaft may be easily controlled by manipulating thel lever 29 to shift they yclutch 24. L

inged at Aits lower extremity7 to the sill 12'/ is a pole or mast 41 normally upstanding from the said sill and braced by a number of suitable guy lines 41. As -particularly seen Fig. 1. the pole 41. is equipped at its uppler extremity with a plurality of hooks 41 se to detachably receive the upper ends of the said lines. Mounted upon the upper end of the pole 41 is a crown pulley 42, a casln line pulley 43 and asand line pulley di. Wrapped about the drum 39 of the bull Sigi/heel shaft and trained over the crown pul- Journaled at ley 42 is a cable 45 to the free end of which maybe secured any suitableV cable 4 tools. Connected to the extremity of the bull wheel shaft 34 adjacent. the post 35 is a band wheel 46 around which is arranged a. b'rake handel?. One end of this band is Secured to a staple 48 connected with a baseboard 49 upon the adjacent extremity of the beam 36. The free end of the brake band is Vconnected in any well known manner with a hand lever 50 pi'voted upon the saidboard whereby the band may be tightened about the`band wheel. for`braking the bull wheel shaft.- In orderthat the bull wheel shaft .may -be allowed to-runfree so that the cable tools maybe quickly lowered into a. well, I connect to the slide 32, a pivoted lever 51. Thelower end of this lever is, as particularly shown in Fig. 5. of the drawings, engaged` by a. crank shaft 52 mounted to swing upon the cross piece 37 and provided with an upstanding hand lever By manipulating this lever, vlthe slide 32 may be shifted within the keepers 33 to move the bull wheel 40 out of-engagement wit-h the gear4 wheel 31. The cable 45 may then be unwound from the d rum 39under'the weight of a cable tool attached 4to the said cable.

Mounted upon the sill 12 to abut the contiguous end of the beam 16 of the frame is a forwardly inclined lSamson-post 54 upon the upper endof which is mounted to rock a walking beam Bracing the post 54 is a brace beam 56. i Swingingly connected with the inner extremity of the walking beam is a pitman, the lower end of which is formed lto-removably receive a pin 58 connecting the said pitman witha crank arm 59 upon the adjacent end of the drive shaft 21. The arm 59 is. as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, formed with a series ot' longitudinally spaced openings through which the pin 5S may be selectively engaged for varying the throw of the walking beam. The outer end of the walking beam is formed to receive a cable to which suitable tools may be connected for drilling and in this connection it will be observed that when the walking beam is in operation, the bull wheel shaft may be allowed to stand idle by simply disconnectingthe clutch 24 from the drive gear 22. I

Journaled upon the lower edges of the beams 16 and 16 of the frame in advance of the main-drive shaft 21 is a transversely extending spudding shaft 60 to one end of which is connected a crank 61. Mounted upon the opposite extremity of this shaftis a spudding-arm 62 arranged to move within a guide frame 63 mounted upon the beam 16 ofA the frame. At its free extre1'nity, .thev arm, 62 rcarries a spudding wheel 64. When it is Idesired to use spudding tools previous to the drilling opera- -tio1`1,the pitman 57 is disconnected from cable.

the crank 59`upon the main drive shaft and i the crank 61 of the spudding shaft is connected with the crank 59 by a connecting rod (55. The cable 15 is then carried rear wardly from the drum 39 of the bull wheel shaft and trained over the spudding wheel 6-1. Consequently, when the drive shaft 21 is rotated, a rocking movement will'be imparted to the spudding arm 62 reciprocating the spudding tool connected with the Where desired, aseparate jerk line may, of course, be employed in connection with the spudding wheel. j

Journaled at one end in a suitable bearing upon the lower edge of the beam 16 of the. frame is a transversely extending sand reel shaftGG. The opposite extremity of this shaft is journaled upon a lever 67 pivotally connected at its upper extremity to the beam 16 of the frame. The sand reel shaft is equipped with a. plurality offlanges 68,

preferably three 'in number, and the central flange is formed with a radial notch 69. One end of a vsand line 7 0 may be engaged within this notch when the said line may be wrapped about the shaft at either' one side or the other of the central flange 68 and thence trained' over the sand line pulley 41 upon the pole 11. Keyed upon the sand reel shaft in the plane of the beltv wheel 22 is a friction wheel 71 and mounted upon the beam 16 of the frame adjacent said friction wheel is a brake block 'z' 2 cut away to fit against the periphery of the friction wheel. The lever 67 is equipped at its lower extremity with acontrol rod 73 and as will now lbe clear. this rod may be actuated to swing thclever 6T in one direction and engage the friction wheel 71 with tllie'belt .wheel 22 when the sand reel shaft will be rotated at a relatively high speed' for winding up the sand line. Consequently, a well may be quickly bailed out byineans of a bailer attached to thesaid line. In order to hold the bailer at the top of the well. the lcontrol rod 73 is actuated to shift the lever 6T in the opposite direction when the friction wheel T1 will be moved to engage the brake block 72 to prevent retrograde movement of the sand reel.shaft.

Mounted upon the beams 13 and 13 in a -plane slightly in the rearof the bull 'wheel shaft. is a transversely extending casingv line shaft 71 upon which is fixed a drinn 75 for receiving a casing line 76. `The casing line is trained over the casing line pulley 13 upon the pole 11. lfixed'upon the shaft T1 at opposite extrelnitles of 'the drum 7o are, as particularly shown 1n Fig: G of the drap'- ings. preferably metal casing wheels 4 7. These wheels are each formed with a clrcular body from which extends an annular `.lateral fiange 78 arranged adjacent the pe"-` riphery ofthe body. .Embracing the said iianges are brake .bands 8 0 having corresponding extremities thereof securedto the cross brac'e 15 between the adjacent ends of the beams v13 and 13' and opposite corresponding extremities thereof connected with a crank shaft 81. This shaft is journaled upon the said beams at the adjacent extremities-thereof and is provided at one end with an upstanding handle 82 which may, as wIll be Well understood, be operated for simultaneously clam-ping the brake bands 80 about the Wheel flanges 7 8 of both of the casing wheels. f j

Journaled upon the upper edges of the beams 13 and 13 in a plane slightly inadvance of the bull wheel shaft is a'counter- `sprocketwheel 86'. The drive shaft 21 is equipped with a similar sprocket wheel 87 and trained over these latter sprocket wheels is a sprocketchain S8. Thus, rotary movement of the main drive shaft will be communicated to the counter-shaft 83.

Loosely mounted upon one extremity of the casing line shaft '71 is a sprocket wheel 89,'the hub of which is provided with a clutch face 90. Splined on the adjacent terminal of the shaft to cooperate with the said clutch face is a. clutch 91 shiftable upon the shaft by a hand lever 92. This-lever is supported at its inner end Aupon a bracket 93 extending from the adjacent beam 13 of the frame. Trained over the sprocket wheels 81 and 89 `is a sprocket chain 91. Loosely mounted upon the opposite extremity of the casing line shaft 'T1 is a sprocket wheel 95 and, as shown in Fig. 5 ofthe drawings. this sprocket wheel is somewhat larger in dialneoted upon a bracket 99 extending laterally from the beam 13 of the frame. Connected at one-end to the inner end of this lever is a link bar 100 the opposite end of which is pivotally connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 101 pivotednpon a suitable bracketextending from the beam 13 of the frame. Projecting rearwardly from the other arm of the said bell crank lever is a control rod 102, the outer end of which is disposed ad` jacent `the hand:"leve1. 92. The rod 1 02 for operating the clutch 97 and the lever 92 for operating the clutch 91 are therefore arranged at the same side of the frame so that an attendant may easily operate both of the said levers. Trained over thc .sprocket wheels 85 and 95 isa sprocket chain 103.

Theclutches 91 and9'4 'normally .stand open and as will now be clear. the lever 92 the clutch face 90 of the sprocket 89 When the casing line shaft 74 will be rotated from the main drive shaft 21. Thus, the casing line may be connected with the well casing for lifting the said casing when thecasing line shaft may be held against retrograde movement by operating the brake handle 82. Since'the sprocket wheel 89 is of adiameter somewhat less than that of the sprocket wheel 95, the sprocket wheel 89 will, when coupledwith the casing line shaft, rotate the said shaft at a relatively high speed. On the other hand, should the casing be heavy or tend to stick in the Well, the rod 102 may be operated to'shift the clutch 97 to engage 'the clutch face 96 of the sprocket wheel 95 for coupling this sprocket wheel with the casing line shaft. Owing tothe 4larger dif ameter of this sprocket, a greater leverage will be had upon the. casing line shaft with consequentincreased power for'lifting the casing at a slower speed.

As will now be clear, the bull wheel shaft may, as previously explained, be rotated for operating the cable tools, independentlyY of the sand reel orl the casing line. Moreover, the sand reel may also be operated independently of anyof the other mechanism while the casing line shaft may be operated independently ofthe bullv wheel shaft or the sand reel. lThis provides a very convenient arrangement in the practical operation of the appartus. Furthermore, it will be noted that when it is desired to operate the casing line, it will be unnecessary to detach the cablev tools-from the cable l5 of the bull wheel shaft, since the casing line may be wound upon the casing line shaft independ ently of the said cable.

Keyed upon the outer extremity ofthe stub shaft 30 is a sprocketwheel 101 and fixed upon the outer terminal of the said shaft is a capstan 105. The sprocket wheel is provided so that a rotary rig may be connected directly with the stub shaft to be driven therefrom and.'of course. the capstan is )for the purpose of heavy lifting or pullving. Mounted upon the extremity of the countershaft 83 below the sprocket wheel 10% is a similarsprocket wheel 10o with which a,rotary rig may also be connected if desired to be driven directly from the said counter-shaft Extending between the extremities of the sills 11 and 1'2 at the side of the frame adjacent the bull wheel is a movlable beam 10T and upstanding from this beamis a removable post 108 detachably connected at its upper extremity with the frame by a suitable strap 109. Journaled at one end upon this post is a shaft 110. the oppositev end of which-is slidably journaled in a bracket 111 secured to the beam 16 of the frame. Engaging the inner extremity ofthe-said shaft is a hand lever 112 which is pivote upon the Samson-post 51. Connected to the said post is a segmental rack bar 113 with which is arranged to cooperate a latch 114 carried by tht lev. Fixed upon the outerextremity of tl; sh. Lrt is a sprocket wheel 115; rlhe shaft is lso uiipped with a pinion 116. Thisl pinion is adapted to mesh with a gear ring 117 bolted or otherwise secured,'as particularly shown in Fig.

`6, to the sprocket wheel '95 upon the casing line shaft 71. The sprocket wheel 115 is adapted to receive a sprocket chain to a rotary rig and it will be seen that by properly manipulating thelland lever y112. the inner extremity of the shaft 110 ma)7 be lowered toshift the pinion 116 into engagement with the gear ring 11i for driving the said rotary rig. directly from` the casing line shaft. Normally, the pinion 116 will be held out of engagement with the said gear ring. In this' connection it is to be noted, in view of the previous description, that a' rotary rig may be connected with the apparatus at any one of three different points. namely-with vthe sprocket wheel 105. the sprocket. wheel 106, and with the sprocket wheel 115. This 4provides aconstruction whereby the apparatus may be readily used in connection with a. rotary rig without the necessity for any structural changes in the apparatus. The. rotary rig referred to may be of any approved design andlhas accordingly. not been shown. 'hen n ioving the device from place to place. the beam 10T. post 108. strap 10!) and associated parts may be dismounted.

In some instances it may be desired to use my improved apparatus as a derrick and in order to avoid undue stress upon the pole $1. I provide the derrick frame. shown in detail in Fig. 9 of the drawings. to be 'used in lieu of the pole l1 for supporting the casing line T6. This frame is formed with spaced parallel sills 118 having posts- 119 converging upwardly therefrom at pointsl substantially midway between the ends of the said sills. Ixtending between tht` posts' at their lower extremities is a cross piece 120. At their upper ends. the posts are equipped with a cross pin 121 upon which is mounted a pulley block 122 for receiving the casing line TG. If. when pulling casing. the said casing is found to be very tight. several of the blocks 122 may be employed in connection with the casing line. .it their upper extremities. the posts 11.0 are equipped with 1l ofthe frame is .equipped with a clip 123 to 13 ineneei non suit-able. pole may be attached foi' spacing the engine from the said opneming. This Clip may oleo be used, when found nec.- eesary, to receive a suitable anchoring ineinbei* fon securing; the adjacent eizzten'iity of die zappa mins io the ground. The improved drilling apparatus may also-be used in oonneetion with n standard type of dem'ck', in which event the several cables ofthe appel" tus will be trained over tlieloa'ble pulleys of the deiiick. l i

loving tliue described the invention, what eleinied as new is: e

WelLdiilling apparatus including- 3,' frame having one `side projecting beyond the opposite side at one end, a standard disposed laterally beyond the shorter side of the fiume and in a ronsverse plane of the l freine between thelongitudinally spaced terminals of he two sides of the frame, a beering slidably mounted on the longer side oi:

wheel she-ift having one end journaled on the upper end of seid stand-ard and its 'opposite end journeledln said sldable bearing, a bull Wheel on the said shaft adjacent the lastinentioned end thereof, e. drive shaft, a train of gearing connecting ehe drive shaft with the bull Wheel, means for coupling seid train oi gearing to the drive shaft, guides secured to lthe frame and extending over the ends of the slidable bearing, a lever uleruined on the freine below said bearing and having ite upper extremity pivoted `to said bearing, a rook shaft mounted Atmnsvereely on the frame below 4the bull Wheel shaft and having its ouer end connected with the lower end of Said" lever, and an operatinglever connected oeilie inner end of the rock Shaft.

ln testimony whereof affix my signature.

@mannen W. THORNILEY. [n 3.3'

` the freine at the extended endv thereof, a bull 

